In the late 1920s and early 1930s Whiteman billed himself as The King of Jazz (see: Jazz royalty), though much of what his band played hasn't been considered "true" jazz by later generations. Others reject these notions, and regard Whiteman's music as an interesting development in jazz history.

While today most fans of jazz consider improvisation to be essential to the musical style, Whiteman thought it sloppy and uncouth, and thought the music could be improved by eliminating it, except occasionally in elaborate arrangements. While it is easy to sneer at Whiteman in retrospect, his notions were critically popular and commercially successful at the time, and Whiteman's music was often the first jazz of any form that some people heard. Whiteman claimed that he was "making a lady out of jazz".